Snow Memories and a Pirate Radio Station

That reminds me... I have a faint memory of a huge snowfall around 1940. My memory has to do with building a snow house or digging into the snow to make a hollowed out place. I'm pretty sure that an old photograph in my parents' album which I still have upstairs, is that same snow.

I have another memory of an ice storm and snowfall around 1942, when my Dad had gas put into the kitchen to supplement the electric stove we had. The gas range was a small tabletop contraption that had 2 or 3 burners on it. It was very convenient when the electricity went out. It was really helpful during that ice storm of 1942.

I'm dating it to that year because during the storm, our neighbors, the Lovings, came to stay at our house for several days. They had a new baby, Gene Loving, born in November of 1942 and he must have been just a few weeks old when the ice storm struck.

Gene Loving grew up to be a big wheel in local and Virginia radio and TV management. Gene started out as a teenager with a small radio station that he operated out of his attic. Your Dad and I were engaged at the time. Dad helped Gene wire up everything for his "broadcasts" - since your Dad had done all that kind of stuff when he was in Hawaii as a radio tech for the Navy.

Gene's radio station only lasted a short while. I think he was able to be heard at least a couple of blocks from home. Since Gene had no license to broadcast, the powers-that-be quickly closed him down.